A Solution To Our Problem Founded 14 Years Ago.....

[Somalian_Boqor]

A Solution To Our Problem Founded 14 Years Ago Being Implemented Today.

Farther Northeast on the Somali heartland in the town of Garowe, emerged an autonomous state in 1998 that would play a significant political role, on the Somali Peninsula once again. As before a political framework was established, this time to overcome the rule of a Tyrant Regime, civil war, and total collapse of the Somali society. Never again to centralized political, and military power would become the foundation of the newly created state called Puntland. The roots of federalism firmly planted. While some ran to secessionism, and other's to warlords, and anarchy for political solutions that would further add on to an already existing problem.

Following the outbreak of the civil war in 1991, a homegrown constitutional conference was held in Garowe in 1998 over a period of three months. Attended by the area's political elite, traditional elders (Issims), members of the business community, intellectuals and other civil society representatives, the autonomous Puntland State of Somalia was subsequently officially established so as to deliver services to the population, offer security, facilitate trade, and interact with both domestic and international partners.

As stipulated in Article 1 of the Transitional Federal Charter of the Somali Republic, Puntland is a part of the Federal State of Somalia. As such, the region seeks the unity of the Somali people and adheres to a federal system of government. The legal structure of Puntland consists of the judiciary, legislative (House of Representatives) and the executive (the President and his nominated council of Ministries) branches of government.

Today 14 years later after the establishment of Puntland State of Somalia, the rest of the Somalis have finally seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Federalism is today widely excepted and states model behind Puntland are emerging across the country even within the secessionists state itself.


14 Years Later

A national conference opened in northern Somalia’s stable Puntland State on Wednesday whereby Somali delegates will discuss the country’s future federal constitution, Radio Garowe reports. The conference opened at Puntland State University compound in Garowe, capital of Puntland. More than 180 delegates were present for the opening session, which featured speeches by Somali leaders and international diplomats.

[Somalian_Boqor]

Professor Said Samatar In 1997 a year prior to the establishment of Puntland State of Somalia wrote an interesting article, that sure is worth the read today.

A Poet is by definition a prophet, too. More to point the gabayaa, or singer of verse, is in Somali tradition believed to possess a figurative third eye, the prophetic eye that avails him of the powers of clairvoyance. Consequently, we thought we were on to something when the late Khaliif Sheikh Mohamuud, indisputably the greatest Somali poet in the 1970s decade, prophesied in his remarkable Hurgumo, or Festering Wound, these noble lines:

1. Hadalka hayga moodina inaan maarawaa nahaye,
2. Sidaan maanta nahay yaan la oran laga mil roonaaye,
3. Mar un baannu mowjada xirmiyo maayad soo kicine,
4. Nabsigaas mugdiga gudahayaan mar un helaynaaye,
5. Caruurahaan maryaadahaya iyo dumarkan mowleyey,
6. Mar un baa marwada Maxamad qabo noqon mataalkoode,
7. Mar un baa mid lagu meelmariyo maahir nookicine,
8. Mar un baa rag wada miigan iyo miidi soo bixine,
9.
Mar un baa malkada Caabud-waaq miigu soo dagine.



1. let no man presume that I sing out of despair on account of the devastation visited on my Majeerteen kin,
2. Let no man say, because of our sorrowful state today,
that we Majeerteen have been trounced for good,
3. The day will come when we shall surge forth like a thunderous hurricane,
4. The nocturnal visitor of fortune shall yet smile upon us,
5. The weeping children and widowed matrons, whose husbands have been wantonly slaughtered,
6. The time will come when Mohamad's wife will likewise be deprived,
7. The time will come when a great hero shall arise amongst us and shall redeem us,

8. Then there will sally forth men of honor and valor for our salvation,

9. Then the Mig fighters will descend on the Mareehaan village of Caabud-waaq.

Some exegesis of a couple of lines in the extract which is of
interest for this discussion: the poem which, like many a good poem is about a great many things, was composed as a weeping jeremiad over the sustained harrying and persecution of the Majeerteen during Mohammed Siad Barre's military dictatorship, especially after the Majeerteen-inspired-failed-coup attempt (April, 1978) against Barre. He is the Mohammed referred to in line 6, whose wife is promised a terrible fate for Barre's brutalization of the Majeerteen. Despite the then inhuman cruelties visited upon the Majeerteen for resisting Mr. Barre's tyranny, the poet envisions a time "when a great hero shall arise "amongst us" to "save us." Then the jubilee (time of peace and prosperity) itself will be ushered in when "men of honor and valor shall come forward to bring our salvation." In short, the poet envisions a coming millennium under a Majeerteen guidance. Who are the "us" in the poem that are promised salvation from the ashes of present hardship to a redeeming future? Clearly, at the immediate level, the poet prophesies salvation for his kinsmen, the Majeerteen clan. But at a more poetically profound level, the "us" refers to the entire body politic of the Somali nation laid waste by oppression but now to be redeemed, presumably under Majeerteen tutelage.

It is now 30 years since the poet prophesied salvation for Somalia under Majeerteen midwifery: Siad Barre's dictatorship has vanished; Barre himself has given up the ghost in an ignominious exile among Nigerian Hausa; Somalia has sunk into civil war and misery, and there is no sign of the Majeerteen either saving themselves or their nation. Khaliif would no doubt be turning in his grave with bitterness and embarrassed disappointment!

But why, of all the vipers’ brood that makes up the Somali polity, should the Majeerteen be selectively targeted for blame and name-calling in the general collapse of the land? Principally for two reasons. First, the Majeerteen, of all Somali clans, have a history of government with a ruling elite, structured bureaucracy and economic stratification along with the skills of statecraft. In precolonial times the only states worthy of the name in the Somali peninsula had been the Majeerteen Sultanate of Boqor, or king, 'Ismaan Mohamuud in the Baargaal-Boosaaso region on the extreme eastern coast and the kingdom of Obbia (Hobyo) belonging to 'Ismaan's nephew, the dour Yuusuf Ali Keenadiid. These were both highly centralized states with all the organs and accoutrements of an integrated modern state--a hereditary nobility, titled aristocrats, a functioning bureaucracy, a flag, an army and a not insignificant network of foreign relations with embassies abroad.

Nowhere else in Somalia did anything even remotely comparable ever arise, except perhaps the Ujuuraan on the Shabeelle valley and Adal on the northwestern coast, both states having reached the apogee of power in the sixteenth century. In modern times the Majeerteen stand alone, absolutely alone, in having created a centralized state. This means that the Majeerteen clan in general, and the Majeerteen elite in particular, have a seasoned, unique experience in the nature and processes of statecraft that no other Somali group possesses.


Second, when independence came in 1960 the Majeerteen, owing to their superior skill in governance, merchant capital, education and urban experience, easily began to dominate power and privilege in the new state. As a result, in the eight plus years between independence and Barre's coup in October, l969, the Majeerteen towered supremely over all other clans in dominating the national life. Majeerteen merchants grew rich (by Somali standards) and prosperous while Majeerteen politicians acquired a commanding mastery over the reins of political power. (Here a caveat: Majeerteen ascendancy stemmed more from political astuteness than from coercion, managing as they did to forge alliances alternately with the elite of the Hawiye, Isaaq and Rahanwayn, thus ensuring their preponderance during civilian administrations.)

Over-enthused with an understandable sense of self-importance, the Majeerteen began to become intoxicated (in Somali, "waa qooqeen") with their success, flaunting their power and prestige openly, perhaps too openly, to the anguished envy and hatred of other clans. Thus did the Majeerteen coin a new proverb, boasting of their numerical superiority over all other clans: "Intii madax madaw iyo Majeerteen baa siman"; thus did Yaasiin Nuur Hasan Bidde, the new aristocratic minister of the Interior during Abdirashiid's presidency, brag: "I have just turned thirty-three years, and I have managed to stash away thirty-three million shillings"--then equivalent to $5.5m. Presumably Yaasiin boasted so in order to rub it in the face of rival clans, and the lean and hungry among the latter no doubt responded with a mouth-watering envy.



If they fared better than any other clan during the civilian administrations, fairness would require to point out that the Majeerteen, especially the 'Umar Mohamuud sublineage, suffered far more inhuman cruelties than any other ethnicity except perhaps the Isaaq. And if the ancient Greeks believed that excessive arrogance leads to destruction, they also believed in the possibility of redemption under suffering, specially that pain and suffering lead to wisdom, and therefore possess a therapeutic quality.

It was reasonable to expect therefore that the combination of experience in governing, erstwhile preeminence and subsequent debasement under Barre's persecution should have produced wise political leadership from amongst the Majeerteen after the general collapse--Majeerteen heroes, as the poet anticipated, ready, able and willing to serve the nation. Alas, it did not. Instead, the world watched the humiliating spectacle of the Majeerteen falling on one another into internecine bickering and base political squabbling, failing utterly to establish an orderly administration in their corner of the country. And yet, to free ourselves from bias masquerading as political discourse, the Majeerteen did supremely triumph in preserving the peace and some measure of prosperity in their areas, a great achievement considering the curse of violence and vendetta that seem to prevail in other clan territories. (Here it should be mentioned the Gadabursi have also admirably established security to life and limb in their northwestern side in and around the town of Boorama, though they did have one scary eruption last summer.)

Boosaaso, the capital of Majeerteenia, today remains not only the envy of other clans in peacefulness and tranquility but also the astonished admiration of the international community, "port in a storm," as the Washington Post gushingly intoned. The Italian scholar and philanthropist Martina Steiner stated recently after a fact-finding mission to Somalia:


The northeast (i. e. Majeerteenia) remains practically the only spot in Somalia where the foreign traveller can freely move about throughout the length and breadth of it without fear of being molested and without need of an armed escort. By contrast, as soon as you cross Majeerteen areas, say, west of Galka'ayo into Hawiye territory or past Erigavo into Isaaq, welcome to robbery and hooliganism; then you must have an armed escort. Boossaasso is booming having attracted the migration of merchant capital and entrepreneurial talent from all over Somalia. A considerable number of Isaaq magnates have moved their operations to Boosaaso.

Surely the Majeerteen deserve great credit for maintaining the peace in their mountainous patrimony. Their example of peace and relative prosperity has even set the standard for the Internet banter and chitchat amongst Somalis in Europe and north America. Thus when Mohammed Abshir recently stated on the BBC something to the effect that "we in the northeast argue heatedly, but we do not shoot one anther," his words have drawn vigorous exchange among Somali Internet users with some being bitterly envious over Abshir's claim that the Majeerteen argue over issues to a solution like civilized men; but do not "shoot" one another as other clans are addicted to doing. In other words, whereas previously clans used to boast of their fighting capacity to inflict violence on others, now the Majeerteen have set the standard that the only thing worthy of boasting does not lie in one's capacity "to shoot but in one's patience and prudence to talk" in order to solve political problems peacefully! That in itself is no small achievement.


Still, if the truism is true, "to whom much is given, much is required,' the Majeerteen should have done better, for much is required of them; Somalia calls on them to play their historic role in reconstructing the country. To be sure, the Majeerteen could justly retort: "Easier said than done. How do you propose to bring other clans onboard, clans that find it more profitable to shoot for bililiqsi (looting) rather than talk?" The answer would be obvious: what the Majeerteen need to do--and so far have dismally failed to do--is to get their house in order first, by establishing a constitutional provincial administration in their region. Possessing as they do a large pool of political talent and material wherewithal, they ought to have constructed a well-oiled, efficient administration with modest but respectable state organs--a provisional head of region, police, school, medical and municipal services, etc. If they had done so successfully for all the world to see, this surely should have aroused the envy of other clans and inspired them into setting up their own mini-states. These mini-states could in turn be joined together into some sort of mutually agreed federal arrangement.


There is, however, no sign of their doing this. It appears that, politically, the Majeerteen are just as fecklessly unimaginative and as crippled by the same Somali sickness that paralyzes other clans: lineage segmentation: the Majeerteen are segmented along three principal sublineages--the 'Ismaan Mohamuud, 'Isse Mohamuud and 'Umar Mohamuud. Abdullahi Yuusuf, the flamboyant war lord, who bragged lately that the liver newly transplanted into him from an Irish youth has given him a renewed vigor and vitality, is from the 'Umar Mohamuud; Abshir belongs to the 'Isse, while a certain Abdullahi King-Congo (the name is colorful enough)--a prince (now king?) directly descended from Boqor 'Ismaan and very much in the running--hails from the 'Ismaan Mohamuud. The three have been locked up in a cloak-and-dagger power struggle that prevents them from forming a provincial administration.

Of the three Abshir is manifestly the most deserving: a deeply religious man of a mystical turn of mind and hence blessed by an unblemished personal integrity (remember then General Abshir, commander of the police force, instead of obliging 'Igaal and 'Abdirashiid to steal the l969 election, chose--some say unwisely--to retire from government, thereby leaving himself to the tender mercy of wolves, most especially to the untender mercy of the jackal that went by the name of Mohammed Siad Barre.) Patriotic to a fault, genuinely interested in the welfare of the Somali people and with a great international name recognition, Abshir must be the logical choice to lead the northeast.

But these qualities, which would have been a great asset for leadership in a sane people, are in fact a singular liability among crazed Somalis. Most Majeerteen, and most Daarood for that matter, obsessively fear that if they entrust their interest and welfare to Abshir, he might, in his eagerness for the nation, give away too much to other clans, and hence endanger their future. Once bitten, twice shy, so many Daarood feel. Instead a large number of Majeerteen want Abdullahi for the same reason the Americans wanted Richard Nixon for president during the height of the Viet Nam and Cold War. A prickly British scholar with an earthy humor explained Nixon's overwhelming victory over the pacifist Senator George McGovern in the crucial 1972 election thus: "Granted Nixon is a bastard," quipped the Englishman, "but you need a bastard in dealing with the Russians." A not insignificant number of Daarood feel they need a bastard in dealing with the Aydiid types in the south--which bastard Abdullahi Yuusuf is! (Might this remark of mine bring down on me the furious wrath of Mr. Yusuf someday? So often it is that my written words have caused me vexatious trouble. Yet a writer must write his reasoned opinion regardless of consequences, if he deserves the name at all. Actually, the word bastard in this context, far from being an insult, is a term of affectionate endearment.

I am obliged to explain all this because most Somalis, given their bigoted propensity and sensitivity to imagined slight, to say nothing of their limited grasp of English, are likely to misread Somali meaning into an English idiom.) As a result, vacillation between Abshir, who is the more deserving, and Abdullahi, who is considered a better defender of Daarood interests in a future negotiation with other clans, has paralyzed the Majeerteen into political inaction since 1992. In a search for a way to circumvent this deadlock, the Majeerteen two summers ago invited the internationally respected (but not given the honor due to him at home), former prime minister Mr. Abdirizak H. Hussein, in hopes that the three rivals would step down in favor of him and that Abdirizak's prestige would be enough to stymie political squabbling. Disappointingly, this has not happened. After six months of heroic effort, this tired, penniless and unwell man (who once ran the only Somali administration deserving the name) gave up in disgust and returned to lonely exile in cold America. His experience proves that when, in the end, it comes to political vision, the Majeerteen are as bleakly barren of it as other Somali clans blinded by unyielding greed, short-sighted selfishness and the mindless propensity for bililiqsi, which translates as atavistic criminal looting, which re-appears among Somalis every sadex-guura, or third cycle. Given their historic place in Somali history, surely the Majeerteen could have done better by themselves and by the country.


Last word: to the Majeerteen: where is the miid (penetrating foresight) that the dead poet so soulfully sang about, and so passionately yearned for? Or might this be a case of: "Aw Muuse gabayguu marshaa / meesha soo gelaye!" Every reflective, thoughtful Majeerteen should appreciate, to their challenge, the evocative allusions, indeed the powerful literary-historical land mines that lie hidden beneath the surface of that solitary versicle.



Said Samatar

New Jersey

[FBISOMALIA]

PL

[Somalian_Boqor]

My snet friends,

As we inch closer towards the realization of an unprecedented era in Somali history the likes of which we have never encountered, I feel it's prudent to reflect upon the founding principles which have made this lofty goal an impending reality. As such, I, FBISOMALIA, would like to take a moment to congratulate the collective Puntland populace, expat and citizen alike, for remaining vigilant in allowing peace and prosperity to reign supreme as we embark on a journey which will afford us all the opportunity to taste the sweet fruits of our labour. I believe in my heart of hearts that none of our contemporaries have been endowed with the requisite innate intestinal fortitude to accomplish such a feat, and for that I am thankful to be borne of a blessed bloodline, born a Puntlander

[FBISOMALIA]

My snet friends,

As we inch closer towards the realization of an unprecedented era in Somali history the likes of which we have never encountered, I feel it's prudent to reflect upon the founding principles which have made this lofty goal an impending reality. As such, I, FBISOMALIA, would like to take a moment to congratulate the collective Puntland populace, expat and citizen alike, for remaining vigilant in allowing peace and prosperity to reign supreme as we embark on a journey which will afford us all the opportunity to taste the sweet fruits of our labour. I believe in my heart of hearts that none of our contemporaries have been endowed with the requisite innate intestinal fortitude to accomplish such a feat, and for that I am thankful to be borne of a blessed bloodline, born a Puntlander

[quark]

My snet friends,

As we inch closer towards the realization of an unprecedented era in Somali history the likes of which we have never encountered, I feel it's prudent to reflect upon the founding principles which have made this lofty goal an impending reality. As such, I, FBISOMALIA, would like to take a moment to congratulate the collective Puntland populace, expat and citizen alike, for remaining vigilant in allowing peace and prosperity to reign supreme as we embark on a journey which will afford us all the opportunity to taste the sweet fruits of our labour. I believe in my heart of hearts that none of our contemporaries have been endowed with the requisite innate intestinal fortitude to accomplish such a feat, and for that I am thankful to be borne of a blessed bloodline, born a Puntlander